Food Stylist is a lucrative and challenging job. As the food and beverage industry is growing at a fast pace, a food stylist’s role becomes precious to make the dish look delectable and inflict instant hunger to the viewers.

As a food stylist, plating the food for filming is an important part of the job role. Showcasing the food and the ingredients is of paramount importance. Becoming a food stylist involves a designer’s eye. It needs knowledge of colour theory and the composition that pops up in the photo or the video. Moreover, an experienced palette along with cooking skills is an add-on as it helps in plating the food which instantly grabs the attention of viewers and creates an experience on their palette by just looking at the video or photograph. As a food stylist, you should also be aware of the angle and styling trends as your day to day work also involves coordinating with the photographers and art directors.

If you are someone who’s trying to venture into this area and showcase your expertise with food, then here are a few suggestions that we would like to give in order to vivify your food plate.

1. Use Ingredients As Prop:

The easiest way to make a dish look appealing is by giving a glimpse of what went inside it. Use the ingredients as a prop to enhance the image. Don’t overdo but go for slices of different shapes and sizes. Try introducing a slight asymmetry to bring focus on the food that you want to be highlighted.

2. Create Depth:

Give your plating some depth in order to make the picture impactful. You can go for layers or experiment with the texture and colour of the food. Moreover, you can also use dinnerware or other utensils to create depth in the image.

3. Perfect Background:

Creating a perfect background is of utmost importance. The background gives the photo the necessary element that is needed to make it one of a kind. Use fabrics to create a good background and give the food a rustic look. You can give a taste of the food by playing with the fabric texture. A creamy food item can be placed on the silk fabric background, as both represent smoothness and rich quality.

4. Use Fresh Ingredients:

While plating the food for photography, always rely on fresh ingredients. Fresh food items bring crunch and life to the pictures. It instantly enhances the mood of the viewer and compels them to go for it. Moreover, use little hacks to make the ingredients look fresh, like spray glycerine-water mix to show water droplets, sprinkle ascorbic acid on cut fruits or veggies so that they don’t wither or turn brown quickly.

5. Garnish Well:

Good garnishing instantly plays with the psychology of the audience and makes the dish look delectable. It also adds colour, shape and texture to the entire dish. You can be experimental with garnish and go for edible flowers, seeds, green leaves and more.

6. Human Factor:

Introducing the human factor works really well in delivering a good dimension to the picture. Take a bite into the cake or cookie and make it a part of your plating. As a food stylist, you can also go for hand models who can pour over the sauce or sprinkle the salt, pepper or more to make your plating look ready to go and realistic.

7. Go For Asymmetry:

Introduce a little asymmetry to your plating. Put ingredients or small pieces of the food in odd numbers. Arrange it in an asymmetric way so that every side of the picture offers a new shade of the food.

8. Crumbs And Spills Are Your Friends:

To make the dishes connect with the audience, try bringing in the raw elements. Crumbs and spills are your friends. Add elements to your styling by using a variety of crumbs. Don’t remove small stains, spills or splashes as they play well in the photo.

Food styling has become an essential part of pop culture. The rise of social media has channelised it and now more and more people, utilising virtual platforms, are giving a glimpse of their talent. Moreover, a well-learned and experienced food stylist never goes out of demand. The commercial food world heavily relies on them to give the unique appeal to their offering that instantly grabs the attention of people and adds to their customer base.